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[sarlam]

I am 49 and have had peri menopausal symptons for 2 years mainly consisting of night sweats and hot flushes.  These got worse and worse until at Easter this year I started taking Estelle Duet 1mg. This dealt with the sweats and flushes but I put on half a stone over 6 weeks, mostly around the tops of my legs.  I even got stretch marks! I stopped taking it 3 weeks ago and have been wondering how to proceed.  The sweats etc are gradually coming back as the HRT wears off.  I think that 1mg of Estradiol (the oestrogen type contained in Estelle Duet 1mg) seemed to be too much for my needs.  My doctor has been pretty useless so have been trying to research what to do next. I read that our bodies are made up of 3 type of Oestrogen - estriol, oestradiol and oestrone. I wondered whether there was an HRT made from oestriol as this makes up 90% of peri menopausal women's oestrogen. The other 2 are 7% and 3% retrospectively.  The gel combination sounds good. Does this mean you can tweak your dose as I think I need a very low one? I have also read about Marion Gluck who caters to your personal hormone requirements by taking a reading from your saliva. Obviously this comes at a cost so would rather get feedback to see if there is an NHS route first! Meanwhile my flushes and night sweats are getting worse 

[Mary G]

I'm no expert on the different types of oestrogen in HRT but I can tell you that I didn't find the type used in Angeliq very effective.  I use estrogel now and find that to be the best I have used so far, possibly because it gets into your system more effectively and by-passes the liver so also fewer side effects.  You could give it a try and yes, you can tweak the dose to suit you.  I'm not sure what you do about the progesterone part if you are peri though - I am post menopause and use 100 mg of utrogestan for 7 days every month.  Hope you find a solution.

[GeordieGirl]

I'm using Estrogel and have halved the amount my Meno Doc prescribed - she suggested 2-4 pumps, I find 1 is quite adequate. The beauty of the gel is that you have the flexibility to work out exactly what's best for you.  I do find if I go lower the aching neck comes straight back so 1 pump seems to be optimum for me right now.

I looked into HRT that included oestradiol, oestriol , oestrone and the only one I came across was a pill called Hormonin and I'm not even sure it's available in the UK. Also I don't want to take oestrogen orally so that's that one out. I did see someone on here mention their GP had prescribed oestriol to  them though - I can't remember the thread.

Don't give up on the HRT if it's helping in some way, it may just need tweaking to get it right for you.

GG x

[Greenfields]

I am 49 and have had peri menopausal symptons for 2 years mainly consisting of night sweats and hot flushes.  These got worse and worse until at Easter this year I started taking Estelle Duet 1mg. This dealt with the sweats and flushes but I put on half a stone over 6 weeks, mostly around the tops of my legs.  I even got stretch marks! I stopped taking it 3 weeks ago and have been wondering how to proceed.  The sweats etc are gradually coming back as the HRT wears off.  I think that 1mg of Estradiol (the oestrogen type contained in Estelle Duet 1mg) seemed to be too much for my needs.  My doctor has been pretty useless so have been trying to research what to do next. I read that our bodies are made up of 3 type of Oestrogen - estriol, oestradiol and oestrone. I wondered whether there was an HRT made from oestriol as this makes up 90% of peri menopausal women's oestrogen. The other 2 are 7% and 3% retrospectively.  The gel combination sounds good. Does this mean you can tweak your dose as I think I need a very low one? I have also read about Marion Gluck who caters to your personal hormone requirements by taking a reading from your saliva. Obviously this comes at a cost so would rather get feedback to see if there is an NHS route first! Meanwhile my flushes and night sweats are getting worse 

How about sending an email question to Dr Curry for 25 pounds?  And then take her answer back to your GP and ask for whatever she/he recommends. Also, try and make an appointment with a GP that lists menopause as an issue of interest (if you can).

I'm on Evorel 50 patches and 100mg Utrogestan (oral) - its really helped me.  Transdermal patches are kinder on the digestive system and bioidentical progesterone (Utrogestan) is also kinder on the body.